The Impact of DeepSeek on AI and News

The introduction of DeepSeek, a new Chinese AI model, is seen as a potential game changer in the media industry, primarily due to its significantly lower operational cost compared to US models. With reported costs of approximately $5.6 million to develop versus the billions spent on American equivalents, DeepSeek could enable smaller publishers and media outlets to harness AI technologies that were previously financially unattainable. The discussion raises concerns about the ramifications of this shift, particularly relating to technological competition between the US and China and the implications of an open-source model that could potentially allow unrestricted access to data manipulation and bias in generative outputs. As AI systems like DeepSeek gain ground, traditional publishers may face increased pressure on their economic viability and operational efficiencies as they strive to keep pace.